Few film directors working in the sexploitation genre have ever attracted the attention of mainstream critics. Russ Meyer is one of the exceptions. From the late '50s through the early '70s, Meyer parlayed his obsession with large breasts into an impressive filmmaking career. While most sexploitation movies in the pre-hardcore era were poorly lighted and indifferently photographed, Meyer's films brimmed with cartoonish color schemes, rapid fire editing, and surprising camera angles. Critics quickly noticed that Meyer's films were different than the rest. Noted film critic Roger Ebert even collaborated with Meyer on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Meyer's first effort for a major Hollywood studio (20th Century Fox).